One half decade of pure marital bliss!

Yesterday, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. Go us!

We began the day-long celebration with some fantastic grocery store bagels and donuts. Don't laugh, they're actually really good. After that, we hiked over to the big, centrally-located park (aka, Central Park) for yet another Duke softball game. While Katy sunbathed, Erik and his fellow Blue Devils put a whippin' on the weenies from Boston College. After the game, we stuck around and threw the frisbee on the Great Lawn for a while, until we set off to find some air conditioning.

For our real anniversary celebration, we had dinner at Lumi, a nice Italian restaurant just a couple blocks from the apartment. This place is famous (infamous?) for its role in the "Sex and the City" movie --- after Charlotte and Mr. Big ran into each other inside, Charlotte's water broke on the curb outside. Makes you hungry already, right? For those who have seen the movie (and managed to make it out alive), we sat at the very same table as Mr. Big. Lumi served up a great meal, and we had a really nice time.

For those of you wondering how a relationship can be so strong after five years, I have a couple insights into our marriage:

First, the wife must establish dominance. Katy did this recently by stabbing Erik in the foot with a dull spoon. This is not a joke. I literally was bleeding from my foot. What was really remarkable was that Katy simply "dropped" the spoon from the kitchen counter. . .sure, I believe her.

Second, the wife must establish her territory. This explains why all of Erik's clothes are now in the pantry. This is also not a joke. You can see in the picture that I have been allotted a 2' x 3' space to the right of the toaster oven and under the KitchenAid mixer and Krups espresso maker. This brings up an interesting point. . .why have no cookies come from the KitchenAid mixer in the past three months?

Okay, the truth is that we have a wonderful marriage, despite the occasional spoon-stabbing and closet-annexation. Our first five years have been great, and we are looking forward to (at least) five more!

Love to all,

Katy and Erik

A Double-Double-Header Weekend!

After Erik landed at Newark Airport at 1 a.m. on Saturday, Erik and Katy were back together in the big city!

On Saturday, while Katy worked, Erik played the first of two weekend softball games with the Duke Club of NY, losing in extra innings to the friendly folks from the University of Chicago.

That night, after a tasty southwestern dinner and margaritas at Mustang Grill & Tequila Lounge, we hit up the movie theater for a double-feature. First, Katy dragged Erik, kicking and screaming, to see "Sex and the City", which fortunately wasn't nearly as bad as the HBO series on which the movie is based. After that fantastic moving picture show, we headed across the hall and saw "Get Smart", which was really, really funny.

On Sunday, Erik played in the second weekend softball game against Duke's hated rivals. . .the Tar Holes of North Carolina. This was a scene from The Sandlot. We showed up with only eight players (a ninth showed up late), no uniforms, and a ragtag bunch of misfits. They showed up with twenty players, three coaches, sparkling baby-blue jerseys, and a heaping pile of attitude. Then we trounced them by twelve runs. Go Duke.

A Visit to the Left Coast

After a great weekend in Texas, Katy and Erik headed in opposite directions. Katy went back to NYC for a week of work and delivered dinners, while Erik joined a couple colleagues for a week on the west coast --- San Francisco, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Portland (great town), and Seattle.

Generally, I wouldn't waste everyone's time with talk of a business trip, but it is worth noting that the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica made a big, big mistake. They literally must have been out of rooms, because for my one-night stay, I ended up in the Palm Suite. . .which has ruined every other hotel room for the rest of my life. When I walked in and saw the baby grand piano in the middle of the living room, I immediately called down to the front desk to make sure it wasn't a mistake.

Unfortunately, we hadn't checked in until after 9 p.m., so I had to stay up most of the night to enjoy the room. . .grand piano, three flatscreen TVs, two bathrooms (complete with bidet), full kitchen and dining room, four walkout patios and one furnished deck overlooking the Pacific, and a separate tub/shower room. . .which on its own was bigger than our apartment. I literally used everything in this room, except for the bidets. . .I promise. I even ironed. I didn't go to sleep until after 3 a.m., which made me pretty worthless the next day.

It is very obvious to me that I don't belong in a hotel room like that, because I went out of my way to take all the soaps, shampoos, and Q-tips. I also counted the light switches (18) and giggled out loud while playing chopsticks on the piano at 2 in the morning.

Broiling in Big D!

For the first time since moving to the concrete wonderland, we paid a visit to Big D. Katy flew out on Friday, 6/13, just in time for Jason, Kacey, and Katy's birthday dinner at Pappas' Steakhouse, where they ate our favorite steak in the world. Meanwhile, Erik was "enjoying" a 6-inch Spicy Italian from Subway. No hard feelings, though.

Saturday morning, 6/14, Erik flew out wicked early (4 a.m. cab ride, 6 a.m. flight) and joined Katy in the land of heat. That evening, we had a big Cartwright family get-together at Katy's grandmother's house, home of the BEST view in Texas. A wonderful evening was shared by all --- Katy's grandmother and parents; Jason, Kacey, Jake, Katy, and Erik; Kathy and Randy; Shawna, Jillian and Derek; Bennie and Judy (Jake's folks); and Berklee the Wonderdog, who spent the evening (successfully) looking for mud in the woods.

On Sunday, Doc, Jason, and Erik played 18 holes at Grand Oaks. Scorecard update: 95 golf strokes, 17 heat strokes. It was 101 degrees that afternoon. (For us wimpy northerners, it felt like 101 degrees Celsius.)

Sunday evening, we met Josh, Rosemary, Kaylin (their new, beautiful baby girl), Jamie, Isaac, and Pete at Uncle Julio's for dinner. The only disappointment was the lack of real tomatoes in the salsa. . .seriously, I'm willing to take my chances with salmonella for some Uncle Julio's salsa. After a great dinner, we all headed over to the Briggle Bungalow and watched the fourth round of the U.S. Open. (Go Tiger!)

On Monday, Katy and Erik parted ways, as Erik headed for a week-long business trip on the west coast, while Katy (after several hours of flight delays) found her way back to NYC.

It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone back home.

Love to all.

Big Apple to Big D!

It was another fast week here in the Big Apple Pie.

Monday and Tuesday, we recovered from eating street meet all weekend.

Wednesday evening, we ventured down to Gramercy Park for dinner and a concert. Dinner was provided by our friends at the New York Burger Co. (Fun fact: this was Erik's *first* hamburger since mid-March. That means I have had sushi twice, Turkish twice, street meat a dozen times, three-hundred and twelve bagels, fourteen hot dogs, and seventy-six pounds of barbecue since my last burger. How sad!)

After that wonderful beef-in-a-bun, we went and saw Tift Merritt (opening) and James Hunter (headlining, with guest Allen Toussaint) at the Blender Theater. This was not a concert that we would typically have sought out, but it came highly recommended by a co-worker, and we definitely were not disappointed. Tift Merritt is a great songwriter with an even more amazing voice. James Hunter is the most soulful Brit you could ever imagine, while Allen Toussaint represents all that is wonderful about his hometown New Orleans.

Tonight, we celebrated Katy's birthday (early) with cupcakes from the Two Little Red Hens Bakery. Thanks to Katy's insatiable addiction to sweets, we have tried cupcakes from all over the city, and these are the best, hands down.

Tomorrow, Katy is off to Dallas to spend her birthday weekend with the Cartwright's, where Erik will join her on Saturday!

Love to all,

Katy and Erik

Eatin' Meat on the Street in the Heat

The Big Apple was more like a Big Apple Pie this weekend. . .steaming hot.

On Saturday afternoon, we cruised the First Avenue street fair, where anything you could ever imagine was for sale. We took a pass on the bansai trees, tube socks (10 pair, $10), and tweezers, but we were suckered in by the fresh-squeeezed lemonade, sausage hoagie, and chicken strips.

Once stuffed with greasy food, we hopped on the crosstown bus to the Boat Basin. There, we enjoyed a couple frozen drinks, watched another failed Triple Crown attempt at the Belmont Stakes, and then parked ourselves on a bench looking out on the Hudson River. We sat on the edge of the river until the sun set over the New Jersey skyline.

On Sunday, we hopped on the subway down to Madison Square Park to attend the annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. There, we met up with a couple friends for a brief chat, followed by a sampling of some great barbecue from around the country. Our favorite was Ubon's from Yazoo, Mississippi, where Katy sweet-talked the pitmaster into giving her an extra fistful of pulled pork. . .no plate, no utensils, just a fistful of pork from his hand to hers. . .how sweet. Second place goes to The Salt Lick from Driftwood, Texas. Of course, it did feel a bit silly waiting in line for 45 minutes in New York City just to buy a plate of barbecue from a Texas restaurant. . .a place we never bothered to visit when we actually lived in Texas. In addition to all the great smells and tastes, we also enjoyed some fantastic live music from Eli "Paperboy" Reed & the True Loves.

Once we had our fill of meat and heat, we headed on back home and crashed under the air conditioner.

Coming up never, on ESPN. . .

While the Duran Duran concert was certainly the high point of last weekend, there was more. . .

Erik and Richard passed a couple hours on Saturday afternoon at the Museum of Natural History, which is (a) incredible and (b) far too big. In two hours, we literally covered two rooms out of about thirty. Granted, one of the rooms is large enough to house a to-scale blue whale suspended from the ceiling, but still.

After Katy got off work, she met us on the west side, where we ate an early dinner of Dim Sum at a place called China Fun. Now, as a general rule, you should never eat at a place with "Fun" in the name. Would you ever eat at Burger Fun? Dairy Fun? McFunald's? Taco Fun? Fun & Jerry's? Funnigan's? TGI Funday's? Fun-kin Donuts? Krispy Fun? Pizza Fun? Ruth's Chris Funhouse? Pappafundeaux's? Chick-Fun-A? Papa Fun's? Funkle Julio's? Nope. You wouldn't. So, why would we, three intelligent human beings, go to a place called China Fun for dinner, when there were 37 other restaurants on the same block? I don't know. But it was good.

The next morning, Katy and I grabbed a bag of bagels (not from Funstein's, that's for sure) and took them over to the boat basin. There, we ate brunch with Erik's dad at a picnic bench overlooking the Hudson River. After brunch, we waved goodbye as he and CeeCee headed back to the SV Kelly Rae, which that afternoon would carry them down the Hudson River, around the tip of Manhattan, up the East River, through Hell's Gate, and into Long Island Sound.

That afternoon, Erik made his softball debut in Central Park, where the Duke Club of New York took on the U of Michigan Business School in a friendly doubleheader. After a close loss in the first game, we trounced those 'maize and blue' pansies in a game-two shutout. Looking back, I don't really know how we pitched a shutout in softball. . .that shouldn't be possible. . .maybe U of M left after the first game. Weird. We played again Thursday evening against a scrappy team from Cornell. They took us to extra-innings, but in the end, the Blue Devils prevailed by one run. As many of you can attest, I'm not much of a ballplayer, but there is something really cool about playing softball on the Great Lawn of Central Park.

There is also one major obstacle to playing in Central Park: people, lots of people. There are eight softball fields on the great lawn, and they all face in toward the middle of a giant grass oval. However, there are no fences (or chalk-lines, even) that separate the fields from the rest of the lawn, so the boundary between "lawn" and "outfield" is pretty much nonexistent. The net result is that playing outfield requires a bit of agility in order navigate sunbathers, frisbee-players, cell-phone-talkers-and-wanderers, and other miscreants who do not value their own safety. In fact, it is a ground-rule double if you hit a person. . .no joke. One particularly funny scene erupted on Sunday afternoon when one of our players (not me, naturally) crushed one out to center field, right where a group of young men was circled up and passing around a hand-rolled cigarette (not of the tobacco variety, I'm afraid). Let's just say these guys were already a bit paranoid, so when everyone started screaming at them to watch out, they frantically scattered in a dozen different directions, arms and legs flailing. It looked like an old comedy routine on 8-mm film. It was genius.

This weekend is a big one here in the city. First of all, it's really, really hot and really, really humid. Second, there is a huge street festival on First Avenue, right by the apartment. . .which is perfect, because the only thing I crave when it's 97 degrees outside is some fried street-food. Third, the annual Puerto Rico parade is tomorrow on Fifth Avenue, which should be a much bigger party than last week's Israel parade (no offense to Israel, it's just that their parade was a bit lame). And, finally, this weekend is the annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. . .again, warm beer, ribs, and baked beans sure hit the spot when your flip-flops are melting to your feet!

Love to all,

Erik & Katy

So, 80's music *can* be ejoyable!

On Friday evening, May 30th, Katy, Erik and Richard met up at Zabar's, a super-duper-gourmet-deli-grocery place in the Upper West Side, where we grabbed a bunch of picnic food and then headed to Central Park.

Once in the park, we staked out a patch of grass (mulch, really), plopped down our blanket, and then settled in for a free concert. Actually, the concert wasn't free to the gullible people who coughed up $65 each to see Duran Duran from the comfort of a hard plastic bench in a crowded ampitheater, when they could have sat *for free* on the lawn, ate their own food, drank their own beer, and heard the music just as well.

For those of you wondering what Duran Duran's music sounds like these days, you should grab that box of cassette tapes out of your attic, go to Radio Shack and buy a tape player (since you threw yours away six years ago), pop in the A Side of "Rio", pray that the tape hasn't melted in the attic, and then you'll know. Their music hasn't changed since 1987. They could have been lip-synching from that very same cassette tape.

But, darn it, it was a great evening. Central Park was (and is) beautiful, the weather was perfect, the food was wonderful (particularly the assortment of green olives. . .you missed out, Nancy!), there were dogs playing, there were kids screaming and dancing, and the 80's music was. . .well, it was 80's music.

Walking (Working?) in Memphis

After a lovely Memorial Day weekend, Erik's dad returned to the SV Kelly Rae on the bouncy & noisy Hudson River, while Erik and Katy returned to work, so that they might pay rent again next month.

Wednesday afternoon, I (Erik) traveled to Memphis, Tennessee for a quick business trip. So, here are my travel recommendations:

Go to Memphis. Stay just long enough to see Beale Street for a night, sample 2-3 barbecue joints, view the muddy waters of the Mississippi, and pay your respects to Elvis.

For a great place to crash, try the Madison Hotel, housed in the former Tennessee Trust building, built in 1905. Of note, the basement gym is actually built into the bank's old vault. They have left exposed the 2" thick steel and the wall-sized vault door and locking mechanism, which you see from the inside. I generally don't spend time in gyms when traveling (or ever, really), but this one was spectacular.

I also strongly recommend the dry-rub charcoal ribs at Charlie Vergo's Rendezvous, which is located in a basement accessible only from a dark alley across the street from the famous Peabody Hotel. And, for the best airport food ever, check out Jim Neely's Interstate Barbecue in the Memphis airport. There, you can get fall-off-the-bone ribs, but for the more adventurous, you can also get your hands on barbecue bologna and barbecue spaghetti, which are both WAY better than they sound.

A funny moment. . .My traveling companions and I engaged in a barbecue-related conversation with an older, opinionated, African-American gentleman, who knew Memphis and barbecue very well. When discussing the dry-rub ribs at the Rendezvous, he commented, "If I want my food to be crunchy, I'll eat some damn corn flakes!"

Memories of Memorial Day Weekend

Welcome back, readers.

In the last episode, our two intrepid sailors had just reached land after a daring journey from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey to Manhattan Island, New York, where they were met by the angelic Katy. The three travelers and their fearless hunting dog, CeeCee, then embarked on an equally-brave adventure over land. They walked from the Hudson River at 79th Street all the way to the East River at 71st Street. The trip normally takes about 45 minutes, but our travelers accomplished the feat in just under two hours, as the aforementioned fearless hunting dog had to sniff (and pee on) every single bush, tree, fire hydrant, newspaper stand, human, dog, sign post, and manhole cover along the route.

[switching back to first-person now]

After we all made it back to the apartment, we left the dog to her nap and headed to Finnegan's Wake Pub for a pitcher, followed by a great dinner at Cilantro.

Just as we had previously taken Erik's mom to Alice's Teacup for Mother's Day, on Sunday we took Erik's dad ("Richard") to Alice's Teacup for (an early) Father's Day. . .gotta keep the score even, you know. There, we had the best scones ever*, the best tea ever**, and some darn good food. After stuffing ourselves, we spent the better part of the day at Central Park, which was rather full of people due to the incredibly nice weather. We sunbathed, we people-watched, we read, we frisbeed (is that a verb?), we hot-dogged, and we people-watched some more. That evening, we again stuffed ourselves with some great barbecue at Brother Jimmy's, followed by a little ice cream party back at the apartment.

Monday was kicked off by some French toast, courtesy of Richard and his boat-made bread. The fact that homemade bread can even be made in the SV Kelly Rae's tiny kitchen (or, galley, as we like to call it) is a small miracle. Better yet, it's actually really good.

After breakfast, Katy had to go to work, so Erik and Richard made a beeline (via the 79th Street Boat Basin, Times Square, and Bryant Park) to Greenwich Village. There, we found a great little bookstore, where Richard stocked up on used books for the boat, and an even better bar --- the White Horse Tavern. The White Horse Tavern has been around since 1880, but it is mostly famous for being a hangout of such notable figures as Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, and Jack Kerouac during the mid-20th Century. After enjoying a couple cold beers on their sidewalk patio, we moved on, walking through the West Village, the (recently-gentrified) Meatpacking District, Union Square, and then back home.

It was indeed a Memorial Day to remember.

* Here, "best scones ever" really means best scones ever. Particularly the pumpkin. With the strawberry-banana a close second.
** Here, "best tea ever" really means very good tea, but who can tell the difference between varieties of black tea anyways? It could have been overpriced Lipton, for all we know.

He's Papa, the Sailor Man!

(to the tune of "Popeye")

He's Papa the sailor-man,
he sails with a cocker spaniel,
They wander the coast,
eating fried Spam™ and toast,
he's Papa the sailor-man!

After a tough (cough, cough) winter of wandering Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas, Erik's dad made his way north up the coast. When he reached Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, he realized that he was out of his league and was going to need a local man of the sea* to help navigate through the treacherous shoals** of New York Harbor.

Ever the hero, Erik hopped on the Sea Streak ferry after work on Friday, 5/23 and watched the skyscrapers of Manhattan recede into the distance. A mere 90 minutes later, he strode proudly onto the docks of Atlantic Highlands and bellowed, "where is this old salt that needs my nautical fortitude to brave the treacherous path to Manhattan?" Meekly, Papa Simpson raised his hand ever-so-slightly and whispered, "it is me, kind sir, that needs your help. Please help me brave the never-before-traveled waters*** to Manhattan Island." That evening, the men shared dinner and charted their course.

The following morning, the two sailors woke at sunrise, ate what they knew might be their last meal (scrambled eggs and Spam, sadly), hauled anchor, and set off on their journey. They faced many an obstacle along the way --- aggressive sea gulls, towering waves of nearly two feet, and temperatures dipping well into the upper 50's. Nonetheless, after five gut-wrenching hours, they arrived safe at the 79th Street Boat Basin, where they were greeted by what they assumed was an angel in a green dress. It was Katy. And she didn't bring beer.

*Here, "local man of the sea" is defined as a young, mediocre sailor who happens to live in the area and whose entire local nautical experience is having twice watched people operate remote-controlled sailboats in Central Park.

**Here, "treacherous shoals" is defined as a body of water characterized by enormously wide, deep channels, where the only trouble to be found is a rocky island marked by a 154-foot stone pedestal, on which stands a 151-foot tall copper woman holding a flaming torch.

***Here, "never-before-traveled waters" is defined as the rivers, bays, and tidal estuaries at the mouth of the Hudson River, which have been navigated for at least 400 years and are currently traveled by hundreds of boats and ships every single day.

The Two-Party System

Since we are now two weeks behind on the blog, we have to look WAY back in the past for these memories. . .

On Wednesday, 5/21, we went to a going-away party for Jen, one of our friends from our college days, who has been attending dental school at NYU. She and her husband are taking our place in Dallas, where she will continue becoming a dentist at the Baylor College of Dentistry, home of everyone's favorite teacher. . .Doc Cartwright!

The next night, Erik attended his first company quarterly party at the Hudson Theater. Highlights of the night included speeches by a couple executives and performances by a number of employees --- comedians, musicians, and even a juggler.

Due to budget cutbacks, this blog comes with no links, no photos, and really no point whatsoever. We hope you enjoyed.

With love,

Katy and Erik

Who's a big boy now?

This weekend was Erik's twenty-seventh Birthday, so he did what any seven-year-old would do. . .rode on a bus (the wheels went round-and-round), saw the world's smallest horsie, went to the natural history museum, went to the park, ate a hot dog, drank some lemonade, ate some cookies, rode on a train, went to the beach, went to the aquarium, played with a horseshoe crab, ate some more cookies, and then fell asleep.

Let me elaborate.

Saturday morning, after a wonderful home-cooked breakfast, Katy had to go to work for a few hours, so I rode the bus across town to the American Museum of Natural History for opening day of their new exhibit, "The Horse." The festivities included some actual horses outside, including the world's smallest horse, Thumbelina, who measures in at only 17 1/2 inches tall.

After seeing Thumbelina, who had few redeeming qualities other than being small, I wandered the museum for an hour or so. It would take several days to cover the entire museum, but what I did see was really, really cool. It was so cool, in fact, that I decided to leave so that I could come back with Katy another day.

I wandered from the museum into Central Park, where I killed another hour watching various street performers --- some dancers, a few tumblers, one of those creepy paint-myself-white-and-dress-like-a-ballerina-and-stand-really-still-until-you-give-me-money ladies, and a great jazz band. After getting my fill of street-talent, I killed another thirty minutes reading The Onion over a glass of lemonade, and then I met Katy at work when she got off.

Saturday night, Katy took me to dinner for my birthday at Per Lei, a great Italian restaurant just down the street. The whole meal was great, but the fried calamari & zucchini and post-meal cappuccino were both incredible. And, for the best birthday present ever, we went home, ate chocolate chip cookies, and watched "Airplane," the best movie ever. I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.

On Sunday, we ventured off the island of Manhattan for the first time since we moved to the Big Apple, taking the F train all the way out to Coney Island. We walked the boardwalk, ate some greasy carnival food, walked on the beach, and went to the New York Aquarium. Coney Island has certainly seen better days, but there is something truly charming about it. It's kind of the anti-Disney - everything is exactly what it appears to be.

This week, we are looking forward to our second visitor, who will likely be the only visitor to show up in a boat, when Erik's dad sails the SV Kelly Rae into New York Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty, then up the Hudson River to Manhattan.

We send our love and congratulations to Kacey & Jake *and* Kim & Allan, who got engaged this weekend. . .and stole the spotlight on my birthday!

Love to all,

Erik & Katy

Nothing in life is free. . .

There's often truth behind the saying, "Nothing in life is free," but not on Friday nights at the American Folk Art Museum!

A dramatization:

Scene - Friday evening, 5:15 p.m., 34th Floor of a midtown Manhattan office building

Characters - Erik and his office-mate, who we'll call "Luke," because his name is Luke

Script -

Luke: What are you doing tonight?

Erik: I dunno, it's Friday night, it's raining, and it's cold, so I'll probably go home.

Luke: Do you want to go to Free Music Friday at the American Folk Art Museum?

Erik: There's an American Folk Art Museum?

Luke: You bet there is, and they have free admission, free snacks, free live music, and cheap beer on Friday nights.

Erik: Gee willikers, that sounds swell, let's go!

So, that's how Erik ended up at the Dargerism* exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum on a Friday night, where they did in fact have free snacks and live music, as well as $2 PBRs. (That's Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, for those of you who don't drink such swill.) And, afterwards, it was still raining and cold, and he still had to get home.

*"Dargerism" is an artistic trend named for Henry Darger, an untrained 20th Century American artist, who continues to hold significant influence on many "trained" artists. He was also kind of a nut, for what it's worth.

A Visit from Mommy, Part II

On Sunday (Mother's Day), we spent a long morning at the Gotham Coffeehouse, where we were kept company by the Sunday New York Times, some decent coffee, and the local Upper East Siders bringing their kids out on a beautiful Sunday morning. We then spent a few hours in Central Park, where we enjoyed some short-lived sunshine, read books, listened to a band playing down the hill, and watched the remote-controlled sailboats in the pond.

That evening, we walked about thirty feet from the apartment and stuffed ourselves at Cilantro.

Katy and Jeannie made the best of another cold, rainy day on Monday, doing some shopping in midtown, joining Erik for lunch, and wandering around Bryant Park. That evening, we finished off the weekend of fun and eating with another wonderful meal at home, featuring some homemade ravioli from Grace's. Tuesday morning, we hailed a cab at the corner and sent mom off to the airport.

It was a great weekend.

A Visit from Mommy!

We celebrated Mother's Day weekend with a visit from Erik's mommy!

On Friday, Erik had to work, but that didn't stop Katy and Jeannie from cruising the town. They braved heavy rain and cold temps, making it down to Grand Cental Station, which provided a full afternoon of shopping, people-watching, and margarita-drinking at Zocalo. For those who have never been, Grand Central Station is a spectacular building on its own, and it is also home to some wonderful food and (high-end) shopping.

At the end of the day, Erik met the girls at Grand Central, from which they braved the rush-hour subway crowd to head back home. Once we made it home (through the continuing cold rain), we decided to stay dry the rest of the night, so we had some dinner delivered from one of the 150 restaurants that delivers to our apartment.

We decided to celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday, because it was the only way we could guarantee ourselves a brunch table at Alice's Teacup, which had been recommended to us by a friend (thanks, Jen!). It was well worth the recommendation, as we had the best tea (Sessa) and scones (Pumpkin) you could ever imagine. After that wonderful, fru-fru affair, we hopped on the subway and headed to the Guggenheim Museum, where we took in Cai-Guo Qiang's stunning, yet largely unexplainable "I Want To Believe" exhibition. (By the way, continued thanks to my wonderful employer for all of the free museum admission. . .)

After the Guggenheim, we took a long, aimless walk through Central Park, which turns up new sites and surprises every time we go. Eventually, we popped out on the Upper West Side, where we decided it was time for some coffee and cupcakes. (Let me interject here. . .Katy is obsessed with cupcakes. I don't know why. Nobody knows why. Thankfully, you can find cupcakes in NYC as easily as you can find hot dogs, so they're always in ready supply. The problem is, whereas *every* hot dog tastes good, only 10% of cupcakes taste good.) So, we headed over to Buttercup, recommended by another friend (thanks, Deborah!), which had some good cupcakes. Once Katy had her cupcake fix, we hopped on the bus back over to our side of town.

Saturday night, after a wonderful dinner at home, we took mom to our neighborhood pub, the Banshee. What better way to celebrate mom than an ice cold Blue Moon with a slice of orange? How about a second ice cold Blue Moon with a slice of orange? How about a third ice cold Blue Moon with a slice of orange? How about. . .no, wait. . .mom and Katy started talking about the cute bartender. . .it's time to go home.

To be continued. . .

People made of wax, Pudding made of rice. . .

Last Saturday, Tom and Michelle came into the city for a fun-filled day. We started with a visit to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, which, as it turns out, is a building full of wax people. So, that was neat.

After that, we hopped on the train and headed downtown, where we wandered around Chinatown and Little Italy. After interviewing a handful of hosts at various restaurants in Little Italy, we finally settled on dinner at Lunella, which churned out some pretty tasty Italian food. After dinner, we went on a bit of a dessert-crawl, stopping first at Ferrara for some canolli and eclairs. After our first dessert, we walked up to Rice to Riches for some rice pudding. For those that actually like rice pudding, it's really good. For the rest of humanity, it just doesn't make sense. After dinner and two desserts, we went to Central Bar, where we were joined by Jen and Gil for a couple beers. We called it a night pretty early, since Tom and Michelle had to catch the train back to Long Island.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday happened.

On Thursday, Mom/Jeannie arrived!!! We celebrated her arrival with Pizza Night at Patsy's. Jeannie is our first guest in our new apartment, and she has proven that there is enough room for three adults to sleep in our apartment. . .but probably not much more than that! We are looking forward to a great weekend with her, especially if it stops raining.

Congrats to Josh & Rosemary back in Texas, who just celebrated the birth of their first daughter, Kaylin.

With love,

Erik & Katy

The next Starbucks???

We all know the Starbucks concept. . .

Build a cool, funky store and sell tasty, addictive, overpriced products to people looking for their daily jolt. Make sure the products (coffee, pastries) are loved by 98% of the population.

So, can we assume that this concept will also work?

Build a cool, funky store and sell tasty, addictive, overpriced products to people looking for a food-induced coma. Sell a product that is loved by approximately 26% of the population.

That's right, folks, we have here in New York City a store devoted to. . .

. . .wait for it. . .

Rice Pudding.

www.ricetoriches.com

Enjoy.

What NOT to eat in Chinatown. . .

Okay, it's been a while since our last post, so we've got some catching up to do. . .

Last Saturday, after after Erik's big river-to-river adventure, we got back to our roots and had a great BBQ dinner at Southern Hospitality, which is only a few blocks from our apartment and is owned by none other than Justin Timberlake. And, while we didn't actually see Justin there, we did sit at a table next to two offensive linemen for the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants - Shaun O'Hara and David Diehl. Big Boys.

After stuffing ourselves with fried pickles, mac 'n' cheese, pulled pork, and beef brisket, we headed over to the local one-screen movie theater and watched "Baby Mama", featuring two of our local comediennes, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

Sunday was a bit less exciting, partly because the weather was crummy, and partly because we spent the day installing our new window a/c unit, hanging pictures on the wall, and cleaning the apartment. We did top off the day, however, with some handmade asparagus & smoked mozzarella ravioli from Grace's Marketplace.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were days.

On Thursday, we made plans with two of Erik's co-workers, Luke and Eugenie, to see "When is a Clock," a play directed by another of Erik's co-workers, Kyle Ancowitz. We hopped on the subway and trekked downtown, where we hoped to find some dinner before the play. When we got downtown, it took a bit of walking to get our bearings and locate the theater, but once we did, we set off to find some food. Now, keep in mind that we were literally one block from Chinatown, where we had a continent worth of food to explore and enjoy. So, where did we eat dinner? Dunkin' Donuts. Not a proud moment. (We didn't actually eat donuts -- they have lunch/dinner food as well. Still not a proud moment.)

The play ("When is a Clock"), presented by the non-profit Blue Coyote Theater Group, was terrific. It was performed in the Black Box of the Access Theater, a great venue - a small stage on the fourth floor of an otherwise dead building. After the show, we spent a few minutes chatting with Kyle (the director) and met a few of the actors, and then we headed back uptown to our apartment.

Friday night, since we missed our pizza night on Thursday, we had a late dinner at Patsy's Pizzeria, which was yet another great New York pizza. According to their website, Patsy Lancieri opened New York's first pizzeria in 1933.

Big "New York Moment" of the Week: Erik saw his very first rat!!! (It was in the subway, down on the tracks. . .not in the apartment, thankfully.) We can cross that one off the list.

With love,

Katy & Erik

We live on an ISLAND!

Riverside Park & the Hudson River



In the annals of history, there have been many a great explorer - Captain James Cook, Amerigo Vespucci, Leif Eriksson, Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, and Ponce de Leon, just to name a few. Well, get out your red pens, you editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica, because it's time to add a new name. . .Enrique de Simpsoña.

On Saturday, April 26th, with nothing but the clothes on his back and a briefcase containing a copy of The Onion, a blank notepad, one library book, and two tubes of chapstick, Enrique de Simpsoña traveled on foot all the way from the Hudson River at 96th Street to the East River at 71st Street, a distance of almost 3.5 miles!! (That's well over 5 kilometers, for you Euros out there reading this blog.)

While this adventure did not lead to the discovery of any new lands, cultures, or species, it did yield a handful of pictures, which are posted here. Enjoy!




The East River